Marea Therapeutics on Friday posted some encouraging results with its lead program, a triglyceride-lowering medicine for cardiovascular disease, that could give an indication of whether the investors in its
$190 million raise in June
spent their money wisely.
Actual data from the Phase 2a trial of MAR001, however, are thin. Marea said
in the release
that the antibody dosed at 300 mg and 450 mg cut patients’ remnant cholesterol levels by around 50% on a placebo-adjusted basis at three months. It said that this predicted “meaningful” clinical benefit. Reductions in remnant triglycerides were also “meaningful,” though no figures were given.
Remnant cholesterol and triglycerides are associated with worse outcomes for cardiovascular disease patients.
MAR001 was licensed from Novartis and targets ANGPTL4, a protein expressed on adipose cells. Marea said it could be a first-in-class therapy.
The Swedish biotech Lipigon Pharmaceuticals pushed its own anti-ANGPTL4 RNA drug Lipisense
into Phase 2
in November. Lipigon’s trial will enroll patients with moderate to severe hypertriglyceridemia and type 2 diabetes.
Marea’s Phase 2a trial randomized patients with hypertriglyceridemia 2:1 to MAR001 or placebo. A 150 mg dose was also tested, but Marea did not give data for this group. There were no deaths or serious adverse events, and no subjects discontinued the drug because of side effects.
Marea intends to release more data at a medical conference and will start a Phase 2b trial in the next six months.
The biotech also unveiled its second program, a growth hormone receptor antagonist intended to treat acromegaly. A Phase 1 study of MAR002 is expected to start in the second half of 2025.